Stuck in the Middle

I think that I would find myself somewhere between Elbow and Bartholome in their debate over the best way to teach composition. Some of the areas they discuss I feel very strongly one way or the other. Some areas I can see myself going either way on. Some of the areas I may feel one way about, but the current state of education makes it difficult for me to proceed the way I would like to.
When it comes to what students should write about, I find myself in the middle of the debate. I think that there are definitely types of writing that students must be able to do that would be considered academic. They need to be able to form their thoughts in to a comprehendible argument. They should be able to correctly write a letter and form complete paragraphs. These are things that student need to know. I also believe that it is important that students have a chance to write something that has no set form, or expectations from me. They need to see writing as an activity that can be done for no reason other than a means for expressing something that they feel is important. There needs to be a balance between personal writing and academic writing.
I agree with Bartholome in regard to how students should understand their roles in larger sense. Students need to be able to understand their position as a member of a bigger social group. I think that it is doing students a disservice if we fail to show them how they are influenced, and in turn influence, the world around them. They are individuals, but I don’t think that anyone is able to go through life without being impacted by some outside force. Students need to understand the way that they are affected by these outside forces in order to make a decision about whether they choose to be influenced by them or not.
I don’t know if I could justify using students’ writing as the key text for a course. I think that it definitely has a place in the curriculum. I have students do short writing pieces that we will later use to work on skills like identifying main ideas and voice. By using their own work, students are able to see these ideas in their own words, and not just in a text book. It also shows students that their writing has merit and worth to their understanding of topics being covered in class. I am right between these two men here.
I find Bartholome’s use of the term “frontier guide” to be pretty funny. I think that he is taking a shot at those who tend to turn their students loose on a topic and let them wander around in the wilderness of academe. Hopefully, these students will all make it out on the other side. While I don’t see myself as a frontier guide, I don’t think that I would label myself as manager either. I think that while I may have to use the skills of a manager to keep students on task and focused, the title is not quite accurate. I think that Elbow’s term may be closer to how I see myself. I teach my students the basic skills they need, provide time for them to practice these skills, but at the end of the day it is up to them to perform or not.